Mirkwood's Archery Contest
by Elvenprincess3019
Summary: Legolas is turning four thousand, and to celebrate... an archery contest will be held. Aragorn also comes to visit, much to Legolas’ joy... and so does someone else


**Mirkwood's Archery Contest**

**Author: Elvenprincess3019**

**Rating: K+**

**Disclaimer: I cannot lay claim to anything J.R.R Tolkien invented – he is the mastermind behind 'Lord of the Rings' and no profit is being made from this story. It is solely for entertainment purposes.**

**Synopsis: Legolas is turning four thousand, and to celebrate... an archery contest will be held. Aragorn also comes to visit, much to Legolas' joy... and so does someone else. Ithilwen – someone very important to Legolas. She provides him with the best birthday gift he ever could have wanted.**

**A/N: My second Fanfic... and I am still new to so please do try to be nice – I'm not very experienced at this yet but I am enjoying writing passionately.**

***Note – Again, this is Legolas Fanatic... I edited this story, tried to smooth out any grammatical errors, etcetera... so if there's a comma gone astray or an inverted comma missing – it is my fault. I have tried to catch them all... so hopefully I've done all right. Thanks.**

**Mirkwood's Archery Contest**

Legolas awoke early, with a smile on his face. "Mirkwood's archery contest is today, along with my four thousandth year-old birthday!" He exclaimed, his eyes burning with joy. He had been anticipating this day for months.

He had been practicing for weeks and Elves had come from all over to see if they could win the competition, and along with it, a prized Mirkwood bow. It was intricately carved in Mirkwood's own design and it was a weapon fit for a King... _'Or,'_ Legolas thought with a smirk, _'a Prince.'_

The young Prince couldn't wait for the contest. He jumped out of bed and adorned his day clothes as quickly as possible. He strapped on his longbow and quiver, for when the competition would commence.

Then, remembering that he had to go to breakfast and his father, King Thranduil of Mirkwood, did not like him to bear weapons at the table, he quickly placed the bow and quiver atop his bed and ran to the breakfast hall.

King Thranduil was waiting for him, along with all the people of Mirkwood. The breakfast hall was very large and spacious to accommodate all the Elves.

"You're late," the King said in way of greeting.

"Yes, I apologise, Father... I overslept..." He nodded to Thranduil and sat down. The King returned the nod, almost imperceptibly, before they all began to eat.

All the Elves started hosting soft, quiet conversations amongst themselves – save for Legolas. He sat there in silence, daydreaming about the archery contest which would take place later that day.

Once breakfast was done, Legolas made his way swiftly back to his room and grabbed his bow and quiver from where he had left them on his bed. He strapped them on again before jogging quickly down the halls and out to the archery field.

What Legolas didn't know was that Thranduil had made plans to invite Aragorn, Legolas' dearest friend. He was known as Estel to the Elves and resided in Imladris, which was quite a distance away, over the Misty Mountains. The King had also sent out an invitation to Ithilwen, an Elf to which the young Prince believed his heart to belong. Legolas had known her for a great deal of time, even for Elves, and their relationship had evolved beyond friendship. Both Estel and Ithilwen were coming for the contest and his birthday.

Whilst Legolas was practicing for the tournament, Aragorn and Ithilwen had arrived as quietly as they could but unfortunately for them, Legolas' keen ears and eyes noticed them immediately as the archery field was located quite near Mirkwood's main entrance.

He was bewildered at first and thought that perhaps he was seeing things – which was most uncommon amongst Elves – but then he was shaken out of those thoughts by Aragorn's yell. "Mellon nîn _[My friend]_, greetings! We weren't expecting to see you until the contest."

"Estel! Ithilwen! I'm so happy to see you both," Legolas called back, a smile lighting up his face.

"We are happy to see you too Legolas," Ithilwen exclaimed, her eyes beaming. "Happy birthday!" She moved towards the Prince quickly, her angelic features illuminated in the lit area. She drew close and then, unexpectedly, she hugged him tightly. "I love you Legolas," she whispered.

"I love you too," Legolas said in a hushed tone. At that time, Legolas had not told Aragorn about their relationship but he would make sure to tell him soon since Aragorn had already gotten married to Arwen after the War of the Ring.

They all walked inside, conversing quietly as Legolas led them to the guest rooms. Ithilwen politely excused herself, saying she wanted to wash up and the Prince thought that it was now the opportune moment for him to tell the King of Gondor of his feelings for Ithilwen and to perhaps get some advice.

Legolas asked for Aragorn to come to his room and led him in quickly, closing the door behind them. He then turned to the man, bracing himself and deciding to simply say it bluntly.

"I like –" the Prince began but was cut off.

"You have love for Ithilwen," were Aragorn's only words.

"You knew?" Legolas asked, genuinely surprised.

"Legolas, you can mask pain or anything else from me – and others – but since you have no experience with love, you can't hide that from me."

"Well said, mellon nin," Mirkwood's Prince conceded quietly, with a small nod. Aragorn had a point.

It was a few hours before the archery contest and Elves were coming from all over... Legolas, unfortunately, had to greet each and every one of them since he was the Crowned Prince and he was bound by duty, despite how torturously slow the proceedings seemed to be going. He also had to wear his royal tunic and leggings.

Once everyone had arrived and he had greeted them all, Legolas ran back to his room and changed, once again, into his more casual, day clothes. After that, he strapped his Mirkwood bow and quiver on once more and returned quickly to the archery field.

****************

"We started with twenty archers. There are now six remaining archers that made the first cut. First, we have Gwetherindolien, son of Imrathion," an Elf, the announcer for the evening, called to the Elves present.

Gwetherindolien lifted a hand as the Elves applauded and strode forward. He lifted his bow and lined up a shot, releasing a moment later. His arrow landed slightly off from the red bullseye. Not a bad shot...

"Next is Feredir, son of Bandorion." The Elf, who was announcing, said after the applause had died down. Feredir strode forward after Gwetherindolien had moved away. He did not do so well, his shot landing in the second ring out from the bullseye.

"The third is Prince Legolas of Mirkwood, son of King Thranduil," the Elf announced, his tone holding a touch of awe. Every Elf knew of Legolas' skill with a bow. Sure enough, the Prince moved forward, lifted his bow and released quickly – making it look almost effortless. His shot landed true, a perfect bullseye.

"Now, it's time for the maiden's to have their turn," the Elf announced over the roar of applause for Legolas. "Silima, daughter of Suiadan." The Elf maiden moved forward, smiling at the crowd. She followed suit of the others and lifted her bow, releasing. Her shot landed a little off.

"Next, is Elarinya, daughter of Megildur." She moved forward after Silima and trained her shot on the target, releasing. To her dismay, her shot went askew and thudded into the wood inches from the bullseye.

"Lastly, is Ithilwen, daughter of Faeline," the Elf announced. Ithilwen moved forward eagerly – releasing her shot a moment later. Her arrow landed in the red circle positioned in the centre of the target, a bullseye.

Legolas was utterly surprised to hear Ithilwen's name called, he did not know she had entered the contest. And then there was her skill with a bow... shocking him further. His thoughts were interrupted by the announcer shouting once again.

"Alright, the people who are going to go to the final leg of the competition are Prince Legolas of Mirkwood, son of King Thranduil, and Lady Ithilwen, daughter of Faeline. First up, is Ithilwen."

She moved forward again, grinning, and shot a bullseye. It was the same for Legolas when he moved forward after his name was called. The next few rounds were much the same, both of them shooting bullseye after bullseye.

It was well into the darkness of night before a decision was made that they were just going to have to call it a tie. So, both were awarded a prized Mirkwood bow.

After the award ceremony, everyone made their way inside for a late dinner. After they had finished eating, Legolas made his way to Aragorn's room, feeling extremely nervous. He fidgeted every step of the way.

"Come in," Aragorn called, glancing up briefly when he heard a soft knock on the wood of his door.

Aragorn was reading, relaxing after the long and enjoyable day. He looked up from his book when he heard the door open, laying it down flat against his chest. He saw a very nervous Legolas looking at him awkwardly. "Legolas, what's the matter?" The King asked, concerned.

"I am going to ask Ithilwen to marry me," Legolas said, his voice shaking.

"Oh," Aragorn blinked, surprised. Then he felt a surge of joy for his friend – this was wonderful news. "Congratulations! Why are you nervous?"

"I don't know what she will say or how to ask," Legolas swallowed. "You asked Arwen to marry you, how did you say it?"

"Legolas, I know you have never found anyone you love, but you have had four thousand years experience," Aragorn said, laughing to lighten the mood. "Ithilwen, when I was talking to her earlier, said she was going to ask you to marry her. She knew it wasn't the proper thing to do and that it went against tradition, but she said she loved you and she wanted to spend the rest of her days with you. So she will say yes if you ask her. Now, go on... ask her."

"Alright," Legolas nodded firmly, his heart fluttering at the human's words. Ithilwen was going to ask him? That went against belief... everything... and it touched him – she must really care for him.

So, determined, Legolas made his way to Ithilwen's room, feeling more confident than he first had. "Ithilwen, may I come in?" The Prince called through the wood of her door, knocking lightly on the wood.

"Yes, Legolas, the door is open," her melodic voice drifted back to him from the other side of the door.

Legolas did his best to hide his nervousness as he cracked the door open and stepped in. "Well, Ithilwen, I have known you for quite some time... and you have been very kind to me and... Well, I think I should just get straight to the point." He coughed and straightened, mentally bracing himself for this. "Uh... Ithilwen... Will... you marry me?" He asked, voice trembling.

"Oh," her eyes went wide. "Legolas..." She bit her bottom lip, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. "Of course I will marry you! I love you..." She stood and embraced him tightly.

Legolas smiled at her, overjoyed, before lowering his lips to hers and kissing her passionately, conveying his love for her through the action.

And so it was that Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, was soon to be married. And the same with Ithilwen, soon to be Queen of Mirkwood...

**A/N: Thank you for reading... again, I am new at this – so please don't be cruel. Please review :]**


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